Cherokee Nation citizen Wes Nofire

Cherokee Nation citizen and professional boxer Wes Nofire has an undefeated record of 11-0 in the heavyweight division.

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — With an unblemished record and major knockout power, Cherokee citizen Wes Nofire is building a name in the boxing world and could fight on national television by year’s end.

The 6-foot-6-inch, 240-pound heavyweight contender has punched his way to an 11-0 record with eight knockouts since turning professional in Aug. 2011. Nofire, a Sequoyah High School graduate, fought nine fights his first year as a professional and plans to keep a similar pace this year.

“We have received some calls from Showtime, and hopefully by the end of the year we will be fighting on national television,” Nofire said. “We are going to step up the level of competition because we have surpassed the level of opponent we have fought in past fights.”

The Tahlequah native trains in Miami with former two-time junior middleweight champion John David Jackson. Jackson has trained former world champions Bernard Hopkins and Sugar Shane Mosley, as well as Tulsa native Allan Green.

Growing up in Cherokee County, he didn’t have many opportunities to get involved in boxing. His mother, the late Annette Nofire, and her ability to offer moral guidance, and the compassion his father, Sherman Nofire, had as a school counselor at Sequoyah really shaped his ambitious character.

When Nofire heard of a gym in Tulsa, he moved there after graduating from Sequoyah in 2004 and started amateur boxing. In 2006, he quickly found himself fighting in the National Golden Gloves tournament in Little Rock, Ark., and serving as a sparring partner for a top title contender.

It soon clicked that boxing was not just a hobby. He and his wife, Molly, took a leap of faith and moved to Florida.

“In order to take it serious as a pro, I had to move out of my comfort zone,” Nofire said. “I had to move here to Florida and get with one of the world’s best trainers in order to make a dent in the professional division and go after a world title.”

Nofire is not just looking to make an impact on the boxing world either. He hopes to give back to Cherokee youth.

“I’m so proud to have grown up with Cherokee heritage and have a full-blooded Cherokee father who has taught me the ways of our ancestors,” Nofire said. “Hopefully, I can start getting involved with our youth. They’re our next generation, and it is how we keep ourselves together as a tribe. Those are the people we have to look after.”